David Gilmour is widely known as the lead guitarist and singer of the rock band Pink Floyd. His song writing and guitar playing contributions were a key element in their success. To this day “Dark Side of the Moon” remains one of the top selling albums ever. His Grammy awarded group was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Aside from Pink Floyd he has a successful solo career. David’s philanthropic commitments have also been a focus in his life. David is excellent at … [Read more...]
Mark Knopfler: Brothers in Arms
British guitarist Mark Knopfler is best known for his work with the rock band Dire Straits. Also a vocalist, songwriter, film scorer, and producer, Mark has sustained career longevity through his work in many aspects of the music industry. Between Dire Straits and his solo career he has been behind the sale of over 120 million albums. Formed in London in 1977, Dire Straits went on to have huge international success. Their album “Brothers in Arms” was one of the largest selling albums of the … [Read more...]
Billy Gibbons: La Grange
Billy Gibbons is best known as the lead guitar player and vocalist in the Texas based blues-rock band ZZ Top. Formed in 1967 the band has played together for 40 years while still maintaining the original lineup. Known for their long beards and southern style, the band is heavily steeped in the blues and rock and roll. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15th 2004. Billy is an extremely tasteful guitar player and is known as a blues-rock guitar great. His … [Read more...]
Michael Hedges: Aerial Boundaries
Michael Hedges was a truly gifted acoustic guitar player and composer. His technically demanding approach contained elements of advanced finger-style and two-handed tapping techniques. The combination of his elaborate compositions and technique would produce the sound of several guitars playing together. While Michael had a love of rock and pop styles he earned a classical degree in composition at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Often associated with the New Age genre, he transformed … [Read more...]
Jeff Beck: Brush With The Blues
Jeff Beck is regarded as one of the most innovative guitar players of all time. Known for his “hands on” approach, Jeff uses the entire guitar to produce a unique vocal style. His limited use of a pick and mastery of the whammy bar, volume, and tone controls allow for true sonic creation. Reinventing himself throughout his career, Jeff has released records in genres such as blues rock, jazz fusion, rock, and electronic music. Through these recordings he has been a four time Grammy Award … [Read more...]
Little Kids Rock
Between 2000 and 2003, twice a year my job would take me to Anaheim and Nashville to attend the NAMM shows. The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world. For a musician, it’s like being a kid in the largest candy store you can possibly imagine. I saw superbly crafted instruments, incredible new technology and I met amazing musicians like Victor Wooten, Alan Parsons and Bill Bruford to name but a few. While all of those things were very cool, what is forever etched … [Read more...]
Exercises: Mirrors
This exercise is aimed at improving your technique, building strength in your hands and improving your double picking across strings. It may also help you to develop some interesting and original chops that you can work into your solos. Click here if you’re not sure how to read the scale blocks. The basic idea is to find a pattern .. and then make a mirror of it .. Now, play them together. In this example, I am starting on the 4th finger of the … [Read more...]
Scales: The D Major Scale Harmonized 3rd and 5th degrees
This lesson is almost identical to the A Major Scale Harmonized 3rd and 5th degree. I have added it in order to show how once one pattern is learned, it can often be used on a different set of strings. These are highly recognizable sounds often heard in rock and country playing but used also in all forms of music. The block below consists of chords moving up the fretboard. The first chord has a red line through it to highlight its pattern. The second is in … [Read more...]
Scales: The A Major Scale Harmonized 3rd and 5th degrees
These are highly recognizable sounds often heard in rock and country playing but used also in all forms of music. The block below consists of chords moving up the fretboard. The first chord has a red line through it to highlight its pattern. The second is in blue, the third in red and so on. These are the chords that are the result of harmonizing the A Major scale 3rd and 5th notes. The theory behind scale harmonization is covered in theory lesson 7. If you … [Read more...]
Scales: Looking for patterns and the A Minor Pentatonic Box Scale
If you took all the notes from all the 5 positions shown in the A Minor Pentatonic lesson and placed them into one block, this is what you would end up with. This is a great exercise to do with any of the scales we (or anybody else) show you in multiple positions. By doing this, you can now see all of the notes of that scale across the neck. Often, when learning a new scale, I will do this. I sit with my guitar in front of this scale block and play the … [Read more...]